Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Saline, exploding office chairs and other assortments

1. We had our second trip to the hospital this year for a saline infusion last night. Boo wasn't the lucky recipient this time, but Cathy. She came down with one of the worst cases of stomach flu I've ever seen and was getting badly dehydrated. So, 1.5 litres of saline, with just a hint of Gravol for flavour, and we were back home.

And surprisingly quickly, really. We got to the hospital about 5:15 and were home by 8:30. Most of that time was spent with Cathy lying down with an IV in her arm. I know people have problems with the way health care is handled in Canada, but honestly, I don't think you could ask much better than that. And, just to make my American friends sick, we walked in, Cathy said her name, they called up her information, told her to take a seat and five minutes later was being looked at.

When she was done, they gave us some free Gravol because we didn't have any. And then we left. No paper work, no insurance claims, no Visa cards needed. Beat that..

2. Just in case you're not feeling paranoid enough at work today, here a story about cheap Chinese office chairs malfunctioning and killing people. The gas canister that allows you to adjust the chair explodes sending shrapnel up your ass.

There's a question as to whether or not this an urban legend, but I must admit I sat a little less uneasily at my desk today after reading this.

3. Because he has so often thrown traffic my way, allow me to throw some his....Clare does an interesting breakdown on how much it costs to travel in Nunavut based on the cost per kilometre of air travel. Not surprisingly, the cost is often at least 10 times more expensive, per kilometre, to travel in the north than down south, if not more.

Yes, there are greater costs associated with having to travel up north. And yes, many of us make extra money that helps to offset these costs. But not everyone does and I can only imagine the pain those people go through financially when they have to travel. For it to cost Clare the better part of $20,000 to fly his family to Manitoba to visit his family is beyond crazy.

4. Geoff Meeker is not just a media blogger with The Telegram, but also a friend. His recent series on the challenges some reporters have when they become famous locally is well worth reading in its entirety. However, I'm linking to part six of the series because I think some reporters in Nunavut might find it interesting/terrifying because it's about Iqaluit. I suspect most have their own horror stories, although hopefully not as bad as the one where the RCMP told a reporter that it might be best if he left town as soon as possible to avoid being murdered.

5. I'm honestly not that invested in this one, but my good friend SRD asked me to promote it on the blog. She's been a good friend over the years and has probably voted for me on any number of silly things over the years, so this is the very least I can do.

CBC is running their Hockeyville contest and one of the final five communities in the running is Harbour Grace. SRD is trying to rally support so that Harbour Grace wins the contest, which comes with all kinds of perks for the winner. Voting runs from February 28 until March 4.

So if you have a moment, make with the clicky on the link and go and vote for Harbour Grace. I guess even a Townie can support that crowd from around the Bay from time to time.

Last Five1. Night - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band2. New favourite (live) - Allison Krauss and Union Station3. Crayon and ink (live) - Allison Crowe4. 99% of us is failure - Matthew Good5. Five days in May (live) - Blue Rodeo*